Fashion After The Wall

The amount that the fashion industry took over in Russia was crazy to me, on one trip in 1999 I was actually told I needed a stylist, this was because I dressed the usuall frumpy way I was used to on those trips, so I could blend in with all the camera equipment I had. So these women in Yves Saint Lauren were walking around in completely impractical clothing for their lifestyle and climate, with wild dogs snapping at them and gypsy children begging, but they didn’t give a damn anymore — this was fashion dammit! The Estee Lauder store opened pretty early on in the mall just off Red Square maybe in 1992, but then I saw the La Perla lingerie store just behind the musuem of the Revolution in 1996 — I knew much had changed. This was during a time when even the army hadn’t been paid in ages, garbage men set fire to dumpsters instead of hauling it off, and even professors would go through garbage trying to find plastic bags to reuse (plastic bags were very valued at the time). So to watch the fashion houses take over was interesting, and consumers went all out. Funny, I still remember all the girls coveting my red lipstick when I was young, because it was hard to get and considered a ridiculous luxury at the time. I’d like to go back again, I’m sure Moscow and Petersburgh will look very different to me. I’d also like to check out Ukraine. If anyone wants to send me on a government or foundation subsidized cultural tour in the name of art and research — let me know. Any Moscow or maybe Kiev galleries want to show my punk portrait series?